Job 35:1

35:1-8 Elihu reproves Job for justifying himself more than God, and called his attention to the heavens. They are far above us, and God is far above them; how much then is he out of the reach, either of our sins or of our services! We have no reason to complain if we have not what we expect, but should be thankful that we have better than we deserve.

Elihu spake moreover, and said. Elihu very probably paused awhile, and waited to observe whether any of the company would rise up, and either contradict and refute what he had said, or declare their assent unto it and approbation of it; or rather to see whether Job would make any reply or not; but perceiving no inclination in him to it, he proceeded to take notice of some other undue expressions of Job, and refute them; one of which is observed in Job 35:2 , and the proof of it given in Job 35:3 .

Job 35:1 . Elihu spake moreover — Job still keeping silence, perhaps because he was convinced that although Elihu had made a very harsh construction of his words, he was influenced by a good motive in what he had advanced, and had now, in the conclusion, given him very wholesome counsel, and, allowing his integrity, had only charged him with some violent expressions, which had fallen from him when he was in great anguish of spirit; Elihu goes on in this chapter to fix the very same harsh sense upon Job’s words. He first puts it to his conscience whether he thought it could be right to gain his acquittal by an impeachment of God’s justice; yet, he tells him he must have thought after this manner, otherwise he would never have made use of such an atheistical expression as, “that he had no profit by doing his duty, more than if he had sinned;” referring, probably, to Job 23:11 ; Job 23:15 . That he ought to consider that God was so far above the influence of all human actions, that neither could their good deeds be of any advantage to him, nor could their evil deeds affect him, Job 35:2-7 . They might, indeed, affect themselves or their neighbours: they might suffer from the oppressions of men, and cry aloud to God to relieve them; but if this cry was not made with an entire dependance on, and a perfect resignation to, the will of God, it would be quite fruitless: God would not give the least ear to it, Job 35:8-14 .

Much less ought they, in every affliction, to be flying in the face of the Almighty and shaking off his sovereignty; that they ought rather to wait his leisure with patience; and that Job himself would not have acted in this manner, had he not been hurried away by too great a self-confidence, Job 35:15-16 . — Heath.

Verses 1-16. - In this short chapter, once more Elihu addresses himself to Job, first (vers. 1-8) answering his complaint that a life of righteousness has brought him no correspondent blessings; and then (vers. 9-14) explaining to him that his prayers and appeals to God have probably not been answered because they were not preferred in a right spirit, i.e. with faith and humility. Finally (verb. 15, 16), he condemns Job for haughtiness and arrogance, and reiterates the charge that he "multiplies words without knowledge" (comp. Job 34:35-37 ). Verses 1, 2. - Elihu spake moreover, and said, Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God's? Once more it is to be observed that Job had said no such thing. At the worst, he had made statements from which it might be argued that he regarded himself as having a more delicate sense of justice than God ( e.g. Job 9:22-24 ; Job 10:3 ; Job 12:6 , etc.). But Elihu insists on pushing Job's intemperate phrases to their extremest logical issues, and taxing Job with having said all that his words might seem to a strict logician to involve (compare the comment on Job 34:5, 9). Job 35:1

CHAPTER 35 Job 35:1-16.Our good or evil extendeth not to God, Job 35:1-7, but to men on earth, who are hereby oppressed, and cry out, but not unto God, nor are delivered, Job 35:8-12. He exhorteth to hope in God, though for the present he be angry, Job 35:13-16. No text from Poole on this verse.

Elihu spake - Hebrew, ויען vaya‛an "And he answered"; the word "answer" being used, as it is often in the Scriptures, to denote the commencement of a discourse. We may suppose that Elihu had paused at the close of his second discourse, possibly with a view to see whether there was any disposition to reply.

1 Then began Elihu, and said: 2 Dost thou consider this to be right, Sayest thou: my righteousness exceedeth God's, 3 That thou sayest, what advantage is it to thee, What doth it profit me more than my sin? 4 I will answer thee words, And thy companions with thee. The neutral זאת, Job 35:2, refers prospectively to כּי־תאמר, Job 35:3: this that thou sayest. חשׁב with acc. of the obj. and ל of the predicate, as Job 33:10, comp. Job 13:24, and freq. The second interrogative clause, Job 35:2, is co-ordinate with the first, and the collective thought of this ponderous construction, Job 35:2, Job 35:3, is this: Considerest thou this to be right, and thinkest thou on this account to be able to put thy righteousness above the divine, that, as thou maintainest, no righteousness on the side of God corresponds to this thy righteousness, because God makes no distinction between righteousness and the sin of man, and allows the former to go unrewarded?

צדקי (for which Olsh. wishes to read צדקתּי, as Job 9:27 אמרתי for אמרי) forms with מאל a substantival clause: justitia mea est prae Deo (prae divina); מן comparative as Job 32:2, comp. on the matter Job 34:5, not equivalent to ἀπό as Job 4:17. כי־תאמר is first followed by the oratio obliqua: what it (viz., צדקך) advantageth thee, then by the or. directa (on this change vid., Ew. 338, a): what profit have I((viz., בצדקי), prae peccato meo; this מן is also comparative; the constantly ambiguous combination would be allowable from the fact that, according to the usage of the language, "to obtain profit from anything" is expressed by הועיל בּ, not by הועיל מן. Moreover, prae peccato meo is equivalent to plus quam inde quod pecco, comp. Psalm 18:24, מעוני, Hosea 4:8 אל־עונם. We have already on Job 34:9 observed that Job has not directly said (he cites it, Job 21:15, as the saying of the ungodly) what Elihu in Job 35:3 puts into his mouth, but as an inference it certainly is implied in such utterances as Job 9:22. Elihu's polemic against Job and his companions (רעיך are not the three, as lxx and Jer. translate, but the אנשׁי און, to whom Job is likened by such words as Job 34:8, Job 34:36) is therefore not unauthorized; especially since he assails the conclusion together with its premises. In the second strophe the vindication of the conclusion is now refuted.

Then it is for thee to reject and to choose, and not me" [U MBREIT ]; or as M AURER , " For thou hast rejected God's way of recompensing; state therefore thy way, for thou must choose, not I, " that is, it is thy part, not mine, to show a better way than God's. 34, 35. Rather, "men … will say to me, and the wise man (Job 34:2, 10) who hearkens to me (will say), 'Job hath spoken,'" &c. 36. Margin, not so well, "My father," Elihu addressing God. This title does not elsewhere occur in Job. tried —by calamities. answers for wicked men —(See on Job 34:8). Trials of the godly are not removed until they produce the effect designed. 37. clappeth … hands —in scorn (Job 27:23; Ezekiel 21:17). multiplieth … words —(Job 11:2; 35:16). To his original "sin" to correct which trials have been sent, "he adds rebellion, " that is, words arraigning God's justice. ## Job 35:1-16. 2. more than —rather as in Job 9:2; 25:4: "I am righteous (literally, my righteousness is) before God." The English Version, however, agrees with Job 9:17; 16:12-17; 27:2-6. Job 4:17 is susceptible of either rendering. Elihu means Job said so, not in so many words, but virtually. 3. Rather, explanatory of "this" in Job 35:2, "That thou sayest (to thyself, as if a distinct person) What advantage is it (thy integrity) to thee? What profit have I (by integrity) more than (I should have) by my sin?" that is, more than if I had sinned (Job 34:9).

Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him —(as a temporal deliverer; for he did look for a Redeemer after death, Job 19:25-27; which passage cannot consistently with Elihu's assertion here be interpreted of "seeing" a temporal "redeemer"), Job 7:7; 9:11; 23:3, 8, 9; yet, judgment … ; therefore trust … But the Hebrew favors M AURER , " How much less (will God … regard, Job 35:13), since thou sayest, that He does not regard thee." So in Job 4:19. Thus Elihu alludes to Job's words (Job 19:7; 30:20). judgment —that is, thy cause, thy right; as in Psalms 9:16; Proverbs 31:5, 8. trust —rather, "wait thou" on Him, patiently, until He take up thy cause (Psalms 37:7). 15. As it is, because Job waited not trustingly and patiently (Job 35:14; Numbers 20:12; Zephaniah 3:2; Micah 7:9), God hath visited … ; yet still he has not taken (severe) cognizance of the great multitude ( English Version wrongly, "extremity") of sins; therefore Job should not complain of being punished with undue severity (Job 7:20; 11:6). M AURER translates: "Because His anger hath not visited (hath not immediately punished Job for his impious complaints), nor has He taken strict (great) cognizance of his folly (sinful speeches); therefore," &c. For "folly," U MBREIT translates with the Rabbins, "multitude." G ESENIUS reads with the Septuagint and Vulgate needlessly, "transgression." 16. Apodosis to Job 35:15. in vain —rashly. ## CHAPTER 36 Job 36:1-33. 1, 2.